Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for Criminal?

Directed by Ariel Vromen, with Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones leading the cast, Criminal was produced by BenderSpink with a confirmed budget of $31,500,000, placing it in the low-budget category for action films.

With a $31,500,000 budget, Criminal sits in the mid-range of studio releases. Marketing costs for a wide release at this level typically add $30–60 million, putting the break-even point near $78,750,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• Apocalypse Now (1979): Budget $31,500,000 | Gross $150,000,000 → ROI: 376% • A History of Violence (2005): Budget $32,000,000 | Gross $61,477,797 → ROI: 92% • Alive (1993): Budget $32,000,000 | Gross $36,700,000 → ROI: 15% • Arachnophobia (1990): Budget $31,000,000 | Gross $53,200,000 → ROI: 72% • Arlington Road (1999): Budget $31,000,000 | Gross $41,100,000 → ROI: 33%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects Action films allocate a substantial portion of their budget to choreographing and executing practical stunts, pyrotechnics, and CGI-heavy sequences. For large-scale productions, VFX alone can account for 20–30% of the total budget, with additional costs for stunt coordinators, rigging, and safety crews.

▸ Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director) A-list talent commands significant upfront fees plus backend participation. Lead actors in major action franchises typically earn $10–25 million per film, with directors often receiving comparable compensation packages tied to box office performance.

▸ Production Design, Sets & Locations Action films frequently require multiple international shooting locations, large-scale set construction, vehicle acquisitions and modifications, and specialized equipment — all of which drive production costs well above those of dialogue-driven genres.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Gal Gadot, Alice Eve Key roles: Kevin Costner as Jerico Stewart; Gary Oldman as Quaker Wells; Tommy Lee Jones as Dr. Franks; Gal Gadot as Jill Pope

DIRECTOR: Ariel Vromen CINEMATOGRAPHY: Dana Gonzales MUSIC: Keith Power, Brian Tyler EDITING: Danny Rafic PRODUCTION: BenderSpink, Campbell Grobman Films, Criminal Productions, Fipex Holding, Lionsgate, Millennium Media, Davis Films, Summit Entertainment FILMED IN: Bulgaria, France, United Kingdom, United States of America

Box Office Performance

Criminal earned $14,708,696 domestically, for a worldwide total of $14,708,696. The film skewed heavily domestic (100%), suggesting strong North American appeal.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), Criminal needed approximately $78,750,000 to break even. The film fell $64,041,304 short in theatrical revenue. Ancillary streams (home media, streaming, TV) may have bridged the gap.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $14,708,696 Budget: $31,500,000 Net: $-16,791,304 ROI: -53.3%

Detailed Box Office Notes

Criminal grossed $14.7million domestically (United States and Canada), and $24.1million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $38.8million, against a budget of $31.5million.

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside The Jungle Book and Barbershop: The Next Cut, and was projected to gross $9–12 million from 2,683 theaters in its opening weekend. The film ended up grossing just $5.8 million in its opening weekend, below expectations and among the worst wide-release openings of Costner's career, finishing 6th at the box office.

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Unprofitable (Theatrical)

Criminal earned $14,708,696 against a $31,500,000 budget (-53% ROI), falling short of theatrical profitability. Ancillary revenue may have reduced the deficit.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

The underperformance may have increased risk aversion around low-budget action productions.

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Development

On June 20, 2013, it was announced that Millennium Films had acquired the script for Criminal, written by Douglas Cook and David Weisberg, an action film in which a dead CIA operative's memories, secrets, and skills are implanted into a dangerous criminal, who is sent on a government mission. J.C. Spink, Chris Bender, Matt O'Toole and Mark Gill were initially announced as producers, with Boaz Davidson later joining the production. On September 13, Millennium set Ariel Vromen to direct the film.

▸ Casting

On June 17, 2014, Kevin Costner was cast to play a dangerous criminal with a dead CIA operative's skills, secrets, and memories implanted into him to finish a job. On July 10, Gary Oldman was in talks to join the film to play the CIA chief. On July 23, Tommy Lee Jones joined the film to play a neuroscientist who transplants the memories to the criminal, while Oldman's role was also confirmed. On August 4, Ryan Reynolds was added to the cast. On August 7, Alice Eve joined the cast. On August 11, Jordi Mollà joined the film in the villain role of Hagbardaka Heimdahl, who wants the dead CIA agent's secrets now implanted in the criminal's brain. On August 12, Gal Gadot signed on to star in the film as Reynolds' character's wife. On September 26, Antje Traue joined the film to play the villain's accomplice.

▸ Filming & Locations

Principal photography on the film began on September 4, 2014, in London. Some actors and crews were also spotted filming scenes for the film on King's Road in Kingston. From September 22–25, filming was taking place in Yateley, Hampshire, where actors were spotted filming car crashes and helicopter chase scenes at the Blackbushe Airport. Filming was also done in Croydon College in Croydon, with the college building used as medical research labs and the CIA operations centre. In October 2014, Connect 2 Cleanrooms installed a cleanroom in Surrey Quays Road, London, for the scene where Tommy Lee Jones' character operates on Kevin Costner's. On October 23, aerial drone filming was undertaken featuring Costner in a car chase scene on White's Row in East London. Some filming also took place at the SOAS - School of Oriental & African Studies University of London library, taking advantage of the brutalist architecture and the amazing visuals of the 6 floors of the academic research library. Filming also took place at Pinewood Studios.

[Filming] Principal photography on the film began on September 4, 2014, in London. Some actors and crews were also spotted filming scenes for the film on King's Road in Kingston. From September 22–25, filming was taking place in Yateley, Hampshire, where actors were spotted filming car crashes and helicopter chase scenes at the Blackbushe Airport. Filming was also done in Croydon College in Croydon, with the college building used as medical research labs and the CIA operations centre. In October 2014, Connect 2 Cleanrooms installed a cleanroom in Surrey Quays Road, London, for the scene where Tommy Lee Jones' character operates on Kevin Costner's. On October 23, aerial drone filming was undertaken featuring Costner in a car chase scene on White's Row in East London.

▸ Music & Score

On December 9, 2014, it was announced that Haim Mazar had signed on to compose the music of the film. However, on June 10, 2015, it was announced that Brian Tyler and Keith Power had taken over scoring duties on the film, replacing Mazar.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: N/A

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

In his review, Empire magazine's John Nugent wrote: "We can but pray that scientists invent a procedure to remove the memory of ever watching this film in the first place", and awarded the film 1 star out of 5. Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Tim Robey called it "wanton, low-down entertainment" and awarded it 2 stars out of 5. In his review for BBC, Mark Kermode placed it in fifth place in his mid-year list of the Worst Films of 2016.